Pumps

What it is for

For each pump in the flowsheet, it estimates the discharge pipeline, the total dynamic head, the shaft power and the suggested electric motor, and issues the pump list as a PDF.

It is a preliminary sizing estimate. The final pump selection is made with the manufacturer's curve.

Which pumps

• Standalone pumps from the palette ("Pumps" group).
• Pumps attached to the outlets of tanks, pump boxes and agitated tanks (see Equipment).

The pumped stream is the one that goes through the pump: slurry flow rate, slurry density, % solids and SG come from the balance.

Step by step

1. Select the pump. The panel shows the total dynamic head, the power and the motor (once the pipeline has been specified).
2. Click Pipeline and power… (standalone pump) or Power… on the pump row, in the tank panel (attached pump).
3. In the Pipeline and power window, specify the Discharge pipeline:
   • Pipeline length;
   • Static lift — from the surface in the suction box to the discharge point;
   • Pipeline diameter — choose a diameter or keep the suggested one;
   • Pipe material — new steel, used steel (corroded), HDPE or rubber-lined;
   • Elbows, Valves (pinch or gate), Check valves;
   • Discharge pressure — for example, the inlet pressure of a cyclone (usually 70 to 150 kPa). A new pump that feeds a cyclone already comes with a typical value;
   • Pump efficiency — on water, at the operating point (slurry pumps: 55 to 80 %);
   • d50 — only in projects without particle size; with particle size, it comes from the stream.
4. The result, on the right, is recalculated with every field.

What you get

• Pumped stream: slurry flow rate, density, solids by weight and by volume, SG.
• Flow regime: pipeline velocity, deposition velocity (Durand) and the recommended range of velocity. Very fine slurries are treated as homogeneous (they do not settle).
• Suggested diameter: the largest nominal diameter that keeps the velocity safely above the deposition velocity.
• Head loss (pipe + fittings).
• Total dynamic head in metres of slurry and head in water (pump curve), with the head ratio for slurry (HR).
• Shaft power (kW and HP).
• Suggested motor: standard IEC size, with the HP alongside.

Method assumptions

• Based on "Bombeamento de polpas" (slurry pumping), *Teoria e Prática do Tratamento de Minérios*, vol. 1, and on the practice of slurry pump manufacturers.
• Head loss is estimated with classic pipe flow methods, using the roughness of the material and usual coefficients for the fittings, treating the slurry above the deposition velocity.
• The head and efficiency correction for slurry follows the usual manufacturers' correlation, based on SG, % solids and d50.
• The motor includes a service and drive margin over the shaft power.

Pump list (PDF)

Export ▾ → Pump list (PDF) or Project ▾ → Pump list (PDF), or the button of the same name in the Export PDF dialog.

• Landscape sheets, with the project frame and title block ("Pump list" in the title).
• One row per pump: tag, duty, flow rate, density, % solids, d50, pipeline, length, static lift, discharge pressure, velocities, losses, heads, HR, efficiency, shaft power, motor and remarks.
• Method note in the footer.
• Pump with no pipeline specified: "Pipeline not specified".

Tips

• Tag the pumps (Tags and names) before issuing the list: the list is read by tag.
• Compare the pipeline velocity with the recommended range. Below the deposition velocity, increase the flow rate or reduce the diameter.
• Remove the estimate clears the pipeline specified for that pump.

Common warnings and limits

• Velocity below or close to the deposition velocity: risk of settling and blockage.
• Very high velocity: accelerated pipeline wear.
• Very high total dynamic head: consider pumps in series.
• Motor above the standard range of the table: check the data.
• "Total dynamic head is zero or negative: check the static lift."
• "No flow to pump": the pump stream is empty or has no result.
• The estimate does not cover the suction line, NPSH or the actual pump curve.